What a ride it's been for ASML (NASDAQ:ASML). Pull up a five-year chart of this semiconductor equipment maker, and it's a wonder that its long-term owners don't feel a little motion sickness. But of course, what's past is past, and the question now is whether ASML can make money for today's shareholders.
Results for the first quarter of this year were something of a mixed bag. Revenue was down about 8% from last year (with system revenue down more than 12%), but virtually the sole culprit was a delay in shipping two machines that were subsequently shipped in April. And so while this delay led in part to a 20% drop in earnings and a miss of the average estimate, it wasn't as if ASML didn't have enough business to make the quarter.
On a more positive note, the bookings and backlog story is stronger. The total backlog climbed by one unit from a year ago and by 11 from the immediately prior quarter. Bookings were also meaningfully higher on an annual and sequential basis.
It seems that the company's immersion tools are finally drawing some notice from customers in the memory space. That's significant, as the company seems to have a pretty healthy lead on rival Nikon. Of course, the memory market can be volatile, and orders today can turn into cancellations tomorrow if overall industry conditions worsen fast enough.
The good news/bad news of this story is that ASML is essentially a one-trick pony. It's clearly the market leader in lithography, ahead of Nikon and Canon (NYSE:CAJ), and the third-largest semiconductor equipment company overall. Still, there seems to be something of a push-pull with the company. Some would apparently like to see them expand into other markets, while others fear a loss of focus and less competitive execution if they do that.
For now, I'm inclined to believe that ASML really is poised to see an upswing in orders. And while the semiconductor industry may now be older and wiser with respect to its capital investment behavior, there's still an ongoing need for equipment. Given that factories like Taiwan Semiconductor (NYSE:TSM) and United Microelectronics (NYSE:UMC) have been getting busy of late, I think there could still be money to be made here in ASML.
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Fool contributor Stephen Simpson has no financial interest in any stocks mentioned (that means he's neither long nor short the shares).
